Vail Daily letter: What amendment means

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Second Amendment: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Militia generally refers to an army or other fighting force that is composed of non-professional fighters, citizens of a nation or subjects of a state or government that can be called upon to enter a combat situation, as opposed to a professional force of regular soldiers or, historically, members of the fighting nobility.

"A free State" was not understood as having to do with state's rights as such, but rather as having to do with preserving the liberty of the new country that the Constitution was establishing.

"The people" means you and I individually.

"Infringed" means to encroach upon in a way that violates the law or the rights of another.

There's nothing about "hunting," nothing about "self defense," nothing about the bogeyman.

This amendment represents what the spirit of this country was founded on. To say this is obsolete today is a death sentence for our great nation. It means more than simply the right to own and possess a firearm.

Here's the challenge. Do your own research into what our founding fathers had in mind with this amendment.

In the meantime, unless you are willing to support the destruction of the Second Amendment, leave my guns alone. Stop supporting the easy road to nowhere and support meaningful steps to get control of our society.